I submit the following, fully aware that this will come off as preachy:

Susan Boyle, a contestant on British Idol (or whatever), became a media darling in recent days, shooting to stardom and capturing the hearts and imaginations of people everywhere. It is a heartwarming story, for most. But, for me, I have a slightly different take…

Here is the video. (Sorry, embedding has been disallowed for this video, for some reason.)

I won’t beat around the bush. I find the whole thing incredibly offensive.

Why are we to be shocked that an “ugly” woman would have singing talent? Is this where we are as a people, that we are downright in awe when someone displays inner beauty at odds with their perceived exterior beauty?

Do we feel better about ourselves because we are now championing her cause? The people who showed shock at her beautiful talent should not be given credit for now seeing past her exterior….they should be ashamed at themselves for ever passing judgment in the first place.

So I guess the takeaway is supposed to be that, “You can’t judge a book by its cover?” These people are just learning this now? These are adults, for Pete’s sake! My, the enlightened elite should be careful to avoid injury while patting themselves on the back.

To me, the big deal shouldn’t be that Susan Boyle has the voice of an angel. Quite the contrary. The big deal should be that the beautiful people in the audience and on the panel found that noteworthy….nay, shocking.

Disgusting.

UPDATE: I almost forgot to mention the truly maddening part: What’s our natural reaction to all of this? “LET’S GET THE WOMAN A MAKEOVER!” Why, of course. She needs to pretty, right?